how many of you have front shoes on only?

[mazziek]

just wondered how many of you have only front shoes on and why? was thinkin bout taking the back shoes off my cob, he has good feet, for those that only have front shoes on why ?? thanks

 

[Ranyhyn]

My horse came with only fronts on after having a relatively quiet summer and I haven't bothered puttin them on since, his back feet are very good condition, we do a little roadwork but no excessive and finally...its cheap

 

[samstar]

I have front shoes on my mare as she has sensitive soles, she does not need any on her back as they are firmer.
Although with all this wet weather they have softened slightly

 

[hatters]

Mine only has fronts, hes a 3.5 year old tb. At the moment his feet are fine, but we don't do much road work. Might need them in the future, but will cross that bridge if we come to it! (my old tb only had fronts his while life).

 

[welshied]

I have front shoes on one of my cobs he has arthritis in one of his hind legs so puts more weight on his front feet so it helps with the compensation, he also has harder back feet to his front which are really brittle

 

[Moggy in Manolos]

My mare only has fronts and not back because she simply does not need them on the back, as is the case with many horses

She never used to be shod at all years ago, but due to her laminitis she has to be shod on the fronts

 

[Tiarella]

I just have front shoes on Doug as well...its cheaper

He does have very good feet aswell.

 

[Honeypots]

I have front shoes on 2 of mine. Both because they struggle with the stoney tracks round here. Horses carry more weight on their front legs which is why some can get away with fronts only.
I don't do back shoes full stop because of potential accidents in the field...seen too many broken legs

 

[JoBo]

Badger the Fjord only has front, because he only needs fronts. He has very good feet but we do have to do quite a bit of road work hacking, so this is what my farrier suggested. Plus it’s cheaper.

 

[BroadfordQueen]

My new horse (touch wood if she passes vetting tomorrow!) only has front shoes, she is only a 4yo and has good hard feet so doesn't need them on the back- she doesn't do enough hard work to warrant them tbh!

 

[TelH]

Riva has fronts on cos he has had laminitis in the past and he gets sore without them but is sound with them. Ebony has fronts cos thats how we got her, we have only had her a few weeks. She will probably keep them on when the farrier comes though. My other 3 are all unshod, in fact I have a 12 yo mare who has never had shoes on in her life.

 

[Dottie]

I have fronts on both mine.

My TB (retired) has terrible feet and goes lame on the hard ground without them.

My pony (semi-retired) is going to start hacking a couple of times a week on the roads to get some weight off her

 

[DiablosGold]

As soon as I got my cob I took his back shoes off, after talking it through with my farrier. It's cheaper and I feel he's actually more secure on the roads (he has road nails in his front shoes) and doesn't slip.

 

[purplekt1972]

I have fronts only, well i did until earlier when i went down the field and he had none at all on!!! Must ring the farrier

 

[golddustsara]

Paddy only has fronts on - he came that way and seems very happy so we have never changed him.

 

[ttt]

Mine all came with front shoes only (except the most recent one), they didn't need back shoes, we don't hack, so it didn't seem worth paying for some-thing they don't need.
Saying that, two of mine now have back shoes so we can use studs for showjumping.

 

[ecrozier]

My mare only has fronts on - she mainly just hacks fairly quietly and goes in school occasionally these days and has arthritic hocks. Her foot condition behind is much better without shoes! Our youngster has none at the moment but will have fronts next time as we are going to start hacking him soon and have some very stoney tracks including the drive at the yard! But doubt we will put hinds on for at least another year.

 

[elizabethshaw]

our 2 are only shod in front - we don't do road work - the back hooves can get a little bashed about if we do a lot of riding in the woods on occasions but not a problem. They are both shown and it doesn't affect their action.

 

[yeeharider]

big lad shod in front only over summer as sensitive feet and goes lame on stoney track to field has full set when working hard hunting over winter

 

[Native Speaker]

Merlin has fronts only, during from April to October when we do most of our work. He hasn't ben shod behind for over five years now, as the road surfaces here are not as smooth in UK, so he has more grip. Also his vehicle is braked, so he dosen't lose traction anything like he used to. So overall, everything seems to be working well.

 

[shellonabeach]

My gelding used to be barefoot for years but I found all the road work as he does a lot of hacking was wearing his toes so had fronts put on.

My mare was barefoot and footsore when I tried her (ISH) so she was shod all round for the vetting. When I got her home she was a bit handy with her back legs around the other horses and not doing any work so I had the back shoes taken off. A year on and her back feet have toughened up and she hacks comfortably without shoes.

As others have said its cheaper and safer when keeping horses together

 

[yethersgill]

Have got two with front shoes only. One is just starting work, but the other is my endurance mare. Would normally have her shod all round but she has taken a break to have sarcoids treated. Going to bring her back into work this weekend and will see how she goes in just fronts. Did a full season like that 2 years ago, but she stood on something and brusied her off hind sole so ended up shoeing her.

 

[Hippona]

Daughters pony came barefoot with very good feet, however our yard and lane is fairly stoney so he was getting a bit footsore. Farrier said to try fronts only initially, and he's been like that since about march with no problem.

My lad is fuuly shod, if I took his off I'd have to wheel him about in a wheelbarrow, the poof.